After imposing water restrictions on hotels, clubs and petrol pumps, aerated drink and bottled water factories are next on the civic corporation’s list.

After imposing water restrictions on hotels, clubs and petrol pumps, aerated drink and bottled water factories are next on the civic corporation’s list.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) may soon restrict water supply to these factories, if the city does not get adequate rainfall.

Soon after reviewing the water situation in the city on Monday, the BMC decided to stop providing water to swimming pools, private gymnasiums and construction sites.

Mumbai has nearly 70 private pools that utilise about 650 million litres water a year.

The BMC also plans to restrict supply to various government and semi-government organisations like Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and the Railways.

This would help save another 200 to 300 million litres a day.

But if the catchment areas of the six lakes that supply water to the city do not receive enough rainfall by next week, the BMC plans to further restrict supply. It would then keep a check on commercial users.

“We might have to stop water supply to aerated drink and bottled water companies,” said Pramod Charankar, deputy municipal commissioner in charge of water supply projects.

The plants of most bottled water firms are located in the industrial areas of the western suburbs.

When asked if BMC had any system in place to enforce this restriction, Charankar said that tightening the valves on pipelines supplying water to these bulk users might help.

“We will get the reports from the respective ward officers. Keeping a check is certainly difficult but if the bulk users get less water they will have to decide on their priorities,” he added.

Mumbai gets 3,450 MLD from the six lakes of which over 20 per cent is lost due to pilferage and leakage.

The 30 per cent cut has been imposed, as the BMC does not want to use water from its reserve quota saved for situations worse than the current one.